


A Night in Town

by WhiskeysWorks



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Blackwatch Era, Blackwatch Genji Shimada, Blackwatch Jesse McCree, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-Mission Date, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 02:43:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18540676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiskeysWorks/pseuds/WhiskeysWorks
Summary: “You’ve been staring.” Genji muttered, hands in his pockets, eyes trained on some unknown object straight ahead.Jesse blinked and looked away, a sheepish smile growing on his lips.“Sorry. You look good, can’t help it.” He shrugged, sending a wink Genji’s way.





	A Night in Town

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm new to AO3, but I've been posting all my works on tumblr for a while now. I'm working on posting fics from there over to this site. :) Thank you so much for giving this a read, I really appreciate everyone who stops by.

Jesse hadn’t expected the city to be so…Elegant. Lots of big buildings with sleek glass and neon lights lining their slopes and angles. There was a good mix of omnics and humans, all getting along. That was a nice change. He and Genji fit in pretty well with the city slickers as per their mission, however, Jesse was feeling a bit warm under the collar. 

Genji, at Jesse’s peril, had been dressed to the nines. He had a black turtleneck sweater covered with a sleek, steel grey trench coat, skinny jeans, and worn combat boots. A beanie and a black surgical mask covered his face and hair, the wires and metal missing so he could pass, and Jesse had never stared at him so much. 

Genji looked so ridiculously good, it was criminal. 

That, and Jesse had never actually seen this much of Genji’s face before. Always hiding behind the mask, eyes dark and tired, keeping everyone at a distance. Now, however, Jesse was walking right next to him, elbows nearly touching every time he had to shift out of someone’s way.

“You’ve been staring.” Genji muttered, hands in his pockets, eyes trained on some unknown object straight ahead. 

Jesse blinked and looked away, a sheepish smile growing on his lips.

“Sorry. You look good, can’t help it.” He shrugged, sending a wink Genji’s way. The ninja’s sharp eyes slid to Jesse, his gaze cynical.

“You are! Not my fault it’s true.” Jesse insisted, raising his hands placidly. Genji looked away, unfazed, as usual. Jesse would get him to believe it, eventually. His charm hadn’t failed him yet, and Jesse wasn’t about to stop trying. 

He grinned as they continued walking, hands slipping into his jean pockets, thumbs hooking in the belt loops. They had no place in particular to go, the mission itself was done. It hadn’t been strenuous, just checking out a site that was suspected of blackmarket trade. 

Now, there was nothing to do but wait for the dropship that had, of course, been delayed. Genji had been silent and pensive since Reyes told them it would be late, Jesse taking the subtle narrowing of his eyes and slump of his shoulders to be annoyance. Especially when Jesse insisted they go looking around while they waited. But, he had conceded, so he couldn’t have been that fed up. 

The cowboy didn’t have a specific place in mind as to where he was going, but it had been a long time since he had been in such a nice city. He wanted to enjoy it while he could. Genji stayed in step with him, though, he kept his eyes either trained on the ground or straight ahead of them. 

Jesse wondered what he was thinking about with his brows drawn like that—perhaps his old lifestyle? What it would be like to be fully human again? Maybe he was anxious at not fitting in with either the humans or omnics around him? Jesse never knew quite what went on in that head of his, and Genji certainly wasn’t keen on letting anyone in to try. 

The cowboy nudged his side when he saw a building that had patterns of lights going down its windows like a waterfall, complete with little holograms of fish splashing around. 

“I’ve never seen anythin’ like that. It’s pretty cool, huh?” Jesse told him with a smile. 

Genji glanced at the building, shrugged, but gave no other answer. He went back to staring but not really seeing, Jesse not taking it personally. 

Something must have been messing with the ninja’s head, so Jesse looked around for a place they could go where he could focus on other things. A cafe, maybe? Could Genji even eat there? He was certainly dressed like he would, and the chill in the air was starting to get to Jesse.

“Hey, you hungry? I was gonna stop in a cafe if they’ve got one ‘round here, warm up a bit.”

“Okay.”

“Can you help me look for one? Maybe they got a Kofi Aromo or somethin’.” Jesse murmured, Genji finally looking around as if he was in the present again. 

They had to walk for another block or so, but they eventually came across a little coffee shop. Jesse held the door for Genji, waving him in with an exaggerated motion and a smirk. The ninja scoffed, though, the edges of his eyes scrunched just slightly. 

From the back, Jesse could see the bits of metal on his jawline, and surprisingly, little studs in Genji’s ears. He frowned. Genji’s ears were showing. How hadn’t he noticed before? He was just so used to not seeing anything but his eyes. That must have been part of what was throwing him off this whole time. Jesse shook his head and followed Genji in, standing next to him in line.

“You want anythin’? Drinks are on me.” Jesse teased, Genji rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

“I don’t know if I can have any of this.” He hummed softly as he read over the screens advertising various coffees and lattes.

“Well, you won’t know unless you try.”

“It could potentially cause my systems to fail and my body to shut down, but yes, I suppose you are right.”

“Alright, so no coffee, then. Got it.” Jesse sighed, making a slight face as he spoke, brows raised in exasperation. 

Always with the biting remarks. It wasn’t really Genji’s fault, but Jesse did get tired of them after a while. He didn’t hold it against him, though, never had, just tried to make light of the situation instead or simply ignore them instead. 

Genji glanced at the gunslinger, hands coming out of his pockets only to lace his fingers together and fiddle with them unconsciously. He had gloves on to hide how they didn’t match.

“I would like to try the vanilla mocha, though.” Genji uttered softly, shoulders raising slightly. Little things like that were what told Jesse he was trying, and damn, if he wasn’t the cutest guy alive while doing it.

“Vanilla mocha, huh? So you like it sweet?”

“I used to. I don’t know about now.”

“Well, if you wanna try some of mine, you’re welcome to it. It’ll be bitter though, I like a good dark roast.”

“You seem like you would.” Genji mumbled to himself, Jesse raising a brow and grinning. 

They ordered and got a two-seater table towards the back of the cafe, just out of sight. 

Jesse didn’t try for small talk, had learned pretty quickly that Genji would only make and carry on conversation if he wanted to. Today seemed like a day he didn’t want to. Most days were like that, but that was fine. Their drinks came quick anyways, the omnic waiter setting them down and leaving without a word. Just programmed to do a job, nothing more. 

Jesse took the lid off his coffee—dark roast with no cream and a little ice—blowing on the still steaming liquid. It smelled wonderful. The coffee in the Blackwatch common room was good enough to do the job, just instant grounds poured into hot water, so having real coffee was nice. Tasted nice too. 

Jesse’s eyes slipped to Genji once more, the ninja’s fingers curled around the cup as he stared out at the city. His eyes flicked around as he looked, the only movement Jesse could see from him. The gunslinger took a sip of his coffee, letting his eyes roam over his partner while he wasn’t being noticed. Yet. 

Genji just looked so good, human and gentle in a way Jesse had never seen before. Like he was just another normal person, doing normal things in a normal city. 

Jesse eventually looked away, down to his coffee as he tapped his fingers against the cardboard cup. It created tiny ripples on the surface of his drink. 

Genji finally moved, hand going up to his mask. Jesse’s brows raised slightly, interest piqued. 

“You can’t stare.” The ninja told him sharply. Frankly, Jesse was surprised he was being trusted with this at all, much less with a simple threat and nothing more.

“I won’t.” Jesse promised. It would be hard, considering this would be the first time he had ever seen Genji’s face, but he would try his best. 

Jesse realized why he was sitting with his back to the door as he pulled the mask down and tucked it under his chin. His skin was pale and face gaunt, scars slicing across his cheeks and lips, though, the worst ones were around where his synthetic jaw meshed with his real skin, red and raw looking. 

And yet Genji still managed to make that look beautiful. 

Jesse didn’t realize he was smiling until he averted his gaze and took a sip of his coffee. Genji had been avoiding looking at anything but his own drink. He blew on it a bit, the design on the top getting messed up a bit. Took a drink, some of the foam sticking to his upper lip. Jesse couldn’t help but look back up at him. 

Genji was staring at the drink, head tilted slightly. Goddamn, it was getting difficult not to blush.

“I can taste it.” He murmured, Jesse raising a brow. 

“I…Normally cannot taste things. Not like this. It is different, but I can tell it is sweet.” He explained, huffing a little laugh at the end. His lips turned up just ever so slightly, Jesse squeezing his cup tighter.

“Well, that’s good. I’m glad.” 

The gunslinger was relieved he managed to get a decent response out, licking his lips as he forced himself to look out the window. 

They finished their coffees in relative silence, Genji pulling up his mask again as soon as he was through with his drink. It had disappeared rather fast. He glanced at Jesse, then took a little breath, exhaling softly. Not quite a sigh—almost as if he was going to say something, then reevaluated. 

The gunslinger tapped the table as he stood, glad to stretch his legs out and have an excuse to look at anything else but Genji.

“We’ve probably spent enough time here. Wanna walk around some more until we get word of our ride? I’m gettin’ antsy.”

“You sure it isn’t just the caffeine kicking in?” Genji asked, raising a brow as he walked past Jesse without waiting for a response. 

Was that…A joke? Did Genji Shimada truly just make a joke? Jesse grinned, adjusting his baseball cap and chasing after the ninja. Maybe he was making progress after all. 

Genji was waiting just out front, hands back in his pockets, the cold breeze tousling his bangs. Jesse didn’t much like the cold, and it was getting dark on top of that, so it was only going to get colder. However, he was enjoying the time he was able to spend with Genji, just pretending they were normal for a while. That made the biting chill more than worth braving. 

Jesse fell into step beside the ninja when he started walking, looking much better than he had before they got coffee. He seemed a little happier, shoulders squared more and less of a shuffle to his step, eyes bright as he looked around. Jesse watched him a moment, smile softening.

“Yanno, I liked seeing you. Without the mask.”

Genji’s head tilted towards him, pace slowing. He was quiet, emotion Jesse couldn’t quite name flickering behind his eyes.

“Oh. I—Okay.” Stuttered out, tone unsure but sincere. Jesse gave him a lopsided grin, then went back to a comfortable silence. Not dwelling on it for too long, Genji normally liking to move on pretty quickly if they ever happened to talk about him, especially his appearance. 

The lights on the buildings and along the roads had more prominence as it got darker, Jesse admiring the creativity of the city. Genji slowed, then suddenly took a sharp turn, heading towards a park Jesse hadn’t noticed. He felt a hand on his arm, pulling him. 

Genji was pulling him along. 

Jesse wiped the surprise from his face and followed, and while Genji let go pretty quickly, he could still feel the phantom of his touch. The ninja had never voluntarily touched anyone before. 

The park around them was beautiful, the plants alight with luminescent colours, twinkling lights between the leaves, and the path lighting up wherever they stepped. Jesse tipped his head back, the canopy above casting a blue and purple light over everything. He could hear the sound of a stream somewhere, and a few birds still chirping in the bushes.

“Woah. I’ve never seen anythin’ like this before!” Jesse gasped, stepping closer to the edge of the walkway to examine a cluster of flowers with transparent petals glowing soft pinks and yellows. 

Genji ran his hand over the trunk of a tree, the light over the bark brightening where he touched.

“It’s…Synthetic. But some of it is real, with holograms. It’s all mixed, though, I can’t quite tell.”

Jesse went to join him, glancing at the awed look in the ninja’s eyes.

“It’s beautiful.” He murmured, Genji tilting his head up to meet his gaze. It was held for a moment before the cyborg looked back to the trees.

“Yeah. It is.”

He then leaned in, tapping his shoulder to Jesse’s briefly before walking down the path. The gunslinger stared, then smiled, mimicking the little light imprints made from Genji’s steps with his own stride. 

Jesse didn’t know when their ride would get to them, but he truly wished the night didn’t have to end.

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like to see more mcgenji fics and general Overwatch obsession, my tumblr is OverwatchWorks! Thanks again!


End file.
